Equities

Economic data, trade war fears in focus on Wall Street


U.S. stock index futures were mixed Thursday morning.At around 04:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 5 points, indicating a negative open of more than 6 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were slightly higher.The moves in pre-market trade come amid heightened concerns about the health of the world’s largest economy. On Wednesday, unexpectedly weak retail sales data fuelled fears about a possible recession.Global economic data points to slower growth while the U.S. manufacturing sector is already contracting. In the center of those worries is the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, which is becoming increasingly uncertain.In Europe, the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said Thursday that it could not support the British government’s Brexit plans “as it stands.”The announcement dealt a blow to the chances of Prime Minister Boris Johnson securing a Brexit deal, with only two weeks left before the world’s fifth-largest economy is scheduled to leave the European Union.Data, earningsBack in the U.S., investors are likely to closely monitor a flurry of economic data and earnings reports on Thursday.The latest weekly jobless claims figures, housing starts for September, building permits for September and the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Industrial production data for September will follow slightly later in the session.In corporate news, Morgan Stanley, Philip Morris and Union Pacific are among some of the major companies set to report earnings before the opening bell.Intuitive Surgical, Bank OZK and First Financial are among those scheduled to report their latest quarterly figures after market close.— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.

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